Hair Transplant Physician Unveils Link Between Nutritional Workout Supplements and Hair Loss at Conference

Hair transplant physician Dr. Larry Shapiro will exhibit his line of nutritional supplements at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) Annual Scientific Meeting September 14-18 in Anchorage, Alaska. His line of hair restoration products titled Help Hair Shake, also available in shampoo and conditioner varieties, as well as his Help Hair Vitamins are designed to make transplanted hair regrow at a faster rate. At the ISHRS meeting, hundreds of hair restoration surgeons, surgical assistants and hair transplant staff will convene for workshops, lectures, booths and meetings on "New Vistas & Trusted Techniques in Hair Transplantation."

During Dr. Larry Shapiro's 22 years of experience as a hair transplant surgeon, he began to question the link between nutritional supplements and hair loss. His research led him to develop a line of Help Hair(R) products containing nutrients specifically designed to improve the quality of the hair. He studied the effect of one of his products, Help Hair(R) Shake, after hair transplants and discovered that the transplanted hair grew in much more quickly than usual.

The term Accelerated Follicular Restoration(R) [AFR(R)] is used to describe using Help Hair after a hair transplant. Other hair transplant doctors have started receiving instruction from Dr. Larry Shapiro so they may offer AFR to their patients. Recently, Dr. Shapiro developed the Shapiro High Anabolic Profile Index Ratings and Overview Chart (S.H.A.P.I.R.O. Chart) to show doctors a theory of how AFR works. This is the first chart that links anabolic use, including workout products, growth hormones, testosterone, whey protein isolate, creatine and IGF-1, with hair loss. The chart shows the risk of hair loss involved and actual chemical pathways. He also offers a Low Anabolic Profile, which helps doctors address lifestyle products that affect hormone levels, and may therefore cause hair loss.

Currently over 400 patients have used Help Hair Shake and products successfully. At Dr. Shapiro's booth, doctors may get a printed S.H.A.P.I.R.O. Chart with the Low Anabolic Profile, and apply to become AFR doctors. More information is at DrShapiroshairinstitute.com and ShakeMD.com.

Article Source: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2011/8/prweb8748637.htm

Myth Busting About Thinning Hair

Whether you're male or female, by the time you reach midlife, you've probably experienced even a little bit of hair loss.

Men may not like it, but they are used it, or at least can sometimes anticipate it coming. That doesn't mean they like it any better though.

For women it can be more alarming, and unexpected.

Before August gets away from us, it's time to take advantage of its designation as Hair Loss Awareness Month and get a handle on the situation.

First, a little bit of True or False (from a study done by Rogaine in recent years):

Most hair loss is hereditary.
True: Yep, 95% of all hair loss in both men and women is hereditary.

If your mother's father was bald, you'll go bald, or experience significant hair loss.
False! Newsflash: the "hair loss gene" can come from either the mother or father's side of the family.

Hair vitamins like Biotin can help treat hair loss.
False: Hair vitamins and a well-balanced diet can help overall hair health, but there's no evidence that they help stop or treat hair loss. (Healthier hair can help minimize he appearance of hairloss though.)

Crash dieting can cause hair loss.
True: Crash dieting can cause Telogen Effluvium — a limited and temporary hair loss that will grow back on its own. Thyroid conditions and certain medications (such as blood thinners, certain anti-anxiety medications, chemotherapy, and steroids) have been shown to cause Telogen Effluvium. But if you already have hereditary hair loss "gene", your hair may not regrow as thick as it was before the temporary loss.

Topical DHT (dihydrotestosterone, an "off switch" for normal hair growth) can treat hair loss.
False: Topical DHT-blockers claim to block this "off switch," but they need to be ingested to be effective. Finasteride, sold under the brand name Propecia, is the only DHT-blocker that effectively treats hair loss, since it is an oral medication

Salon treatments like Trichology can help treat hair loss.
False: treatments like Trichology claim to help stimulate hair regrowth, but there's no scientific proof they help hair loss.

Then we spoke to Dr. Robert Leonard Jr., a New England doctor of osteopathic medicine, Diplomate of the American Board of Hair Restoration Surgery, fellow of the American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery, and Hair Loss Expert for Johnson and Johnson, to further clarify some myths surrounding hair loss:

* "One of the biggest myths about thinning hair is that wearing a hat causes it. It doesn't, wearing a hat has nothing to do with hair loss at all."
* "Stress does not cause hair loss – this is another one of the biggest myths. On the other hand, a lot of women come to me who are stressed and think they're losing their hair, but they're not, they're just under pressure — everything is magnified with anxiety. 25 hairs looks like 250 to someone under a lot of stress, and they think they're going to go bald. "

"The best way to tell if you're thinning is to do a hair count. Do it first thing in the morning — it should take about an hour. Start with a clean bathroom, pillowcase, comb and brush. Count the number of hairs on your pillowcase when you wake up. Count the number of hairs in your drain after you shower, in your towel when you dry your hair, and in your comb or brush during your grooming routine. If you add them together and come up with more than 100, you may have hair loss and should see a specialist to assess your hair. If it's less than 100, you're probably fine. Don't worry about additional hair that may fall out throughout the day – the hair you lose in your morning grooming routine is the best indicator of hair loss."

* "It's important to count the number of strands, NOT the mass of hair. If you have long or thick hair, even two strands can look like a lot when they're wadded up. The only way to tell if you have significant hair loss is to count the strands."
* "Hair loss for men and women comes from the same genetic condition. Women also can trace hair loss back to women on both sides of the family. Plus, they can be additive – if there's a history of hair loss on mom's and dad's side, that person may encounter even more hair loss."

So I asked him about another old wives tale I'd heard:

They say pulling out gray hair causes 6 to grow in its place— maybe we should all pull them out to have more hair?

"That's impossible. One hair follicle equals one hair, and no more. The number of follicles you have at birth are the most number of hairs you will have for your life."

A friend of mine was diagnosed with Sjögren's syndromewhich caused significant hairloss for her. So she tried something called GH3 and noticed significant improvement. Have you heard of this?

""That is a connective tissue disorder, more to do with skin," he responded.

"For treating hereditary hair loss, which accounts for the majority of hair loss cases, I wouldn't recommend it. Nothing has been proven to combat hair loss except ROGAINE (minoxidil), Propecia (finasteride) and laser therapy."

Normal hair loss is about 100 hairs or less per day. If you have more than that, you might want to investigate what's causing it.

Article Source: http://style.lifegoesstrong.com/myth-busting-about-thinning-hair

Hair loss - dealing with the fallout

Sufferers of hair loss can find themselves on a merry-go-round of solutions. As the evidence collects down the plughole and on the pillow, they try brushing their hair less, changing shampoo, cutting out hair dyes and styling their hair differently to hide the inevitable.

And ultimately as this medical-cum-cosmetic condition becomes more apparent they often don't know where to go for help - the hairdresser or the doctor?

Many look for advice on the internet only to be bombarded with misinformation and a marketing avalanche of expensive hair loss products and services promising amazing results.

RELATED NEWS: Medication fixes hair problem | Len's all smiles after hair transplant

Jennifer Martinick, Nedlands hair restoration surgeon and vice-president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, said hair loss was an internet minefield and "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".

Dr Martinick wanted to "straighten out the dodgy industry because there are an awful lot of car-yard salesmen out there".

She has dedicated much of the past five years to educating health professionals and hairdressers about a diagnostic approach to hair loss that includes medical treatments and transplant surgery.

She said doctors were taught about life and death and less about quality of life procedures such as hair replacement.

For many affected, hair loss was psychologically devastating and the earlier help was sought the greater the treatment options.

Australasian College of Dermatologists spokeswoman Clare Tait said the most common form of hair loss was androgenetic alopecia - also known as male and female pattern hair loss.

Dr Tait said alopecia was a medical condition with cosmetic implications that only needed to be treated if it was causing distress to the patient.

"How you choose to treat alopecia typically depends on its severity and the person's expectations," she said.

Of greatest importance was making a definite diagnosis because the different causes required a different treatment approach.

Dr Tait said 80 per cent of men had evidence of male pattern hair loss by the time they were 80 and the majority of women over 50 had some element of female pattern hair loss.

Male and female pattern hair loss is genetic and it is believed that genetics have an influence.

In men it is characterised by hair being lost progressively on either side of the forehead and the top of the scalp or vertex.

A woman's hairline usually doesn't recede but starts to thin over the crown area.

The first choice for treatment with good clinical evidence to support its use was a topical medication, minoxidil, that was available as an over-the-counter medication in Australia, Dr Tait said.

Minoxidil was very well tolerated and side effects were rare. It came in 2 and 5 per cent concentrations and, using a syringe dispenser, a millilitre of the solution is rubbed into the affected area of the scalp in the morning and again at night.

But she warned that it could take up to a year before results could be seen on minoxidil and patients needed to be willing to commit to long-term therapy. If treatment was stopped, its effects were quickly lost and hair loss would revert to what it would have been without treatment.

In general, she said, one-third of women experienced a significant improvement in hair growth on minoxidil, one-third would have hair loss stabilised and one-third did not respond and continued to thin. Results for men were more optimistic with up to 85 per cent showing some benefit.

Dr Tait said a second medication, finasteride, that came in a tablet worked by inhibiting an enzyme, 5 alpha reductase type 2. Reducing the enzyme's activity reduced the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone in the scalp and bloodstream, which appeared to inhibit the further shrinking of affected hair follicles. Studies had shown up to nine out of 10 men on long-term, daily finasteride had improved or stable hair counts.

This medication was prescribed only for men. It was not licensed for use by women because it could have devastating effects on an unborn baby.

While finasteride was generally well tolerated in men, some changes in sexual function were reported by a few.

It was also thought that finasteride might make it more difficult to diagnose prostate cancer because it caused a reduction in the enzyme, prostate specific antigen (PSA), a measurement which was used to aid the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

However, she said recent studies had failed to show any increased risk of prostate cancer in men taking finasteride.

For women, anti-androgen therapy could be prescribed, namely cyproterone acetate and spironolactone. These compounds blocked androgen receptors and stimulated scalp hair regrowth in women.

Dr Tait said other medical conditions could cause hair loss and hence it was important to get a correct diagnosis before commencing any treatment.

A diagnosis required taking a full medical history, clinical examination and tests such as a scalp biopsy. This could help determine if it was a pattern hair loss or something else mimicking it, Dr Tait said.

One of the more common types of hair loss that may be caused by an underlying medical condition is known as telogen effluvium.

Dr Tait said triggers for telogen effluvium included hormonal changes after pregnancy, or when coming off the pill, an iron deficiency, thyroid disease, zinc deficiency or major psychological and physical stress.

She said stress-related hair loss could happen three to six months after a stressful event occurred.

By identifying and treating the underlying medical condition then, hair loss due to telogen effluvium would often be reversed.

Dr Tait said research was ongoing for new medications and topical solutions.

She said some studies were being conducted into finasteride as a gel and another medication known as flutamide had recently shown good research results although there were some concerns over toxicity.
Dutasteride had a slightly different activity on the 5 alpha reductase enzymes and early studies showed promise but more research was needed.

Article Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/health/10015054/hair-loss-dealing-with-the-fallout/

How summer camp taught us that life is still worth living - even with alopecia

At the Be Bold summer camp near Scarborough, North Yorkshire, Sophie Nixon, 14, can’t decide whether to join breakdancing youngsters in the American-style saloon or watch rope tricks being performed by a yellowsuited clown.

There is a bonfire and barbecue amid the tepees planned for later in the day and she is considering entering the X Factor talent contest.

Then there are the make-up and beauty sessions – Sophie isn’t sure but admits she’ll probably be persuaded if one of the many new friends she’s made at the camp goes along too.

It’s hard to believe that four months ago she barricaded herself in her bedroom and began researching suicide on the internet.

Having endured two years of verbal bullying at school, which she kept secret from her parents Helen, 43, and Frederick, 55, her ordeal was finally revealed when her blonde hair suddenly started to fall out last year.

Within six weeks she was completely bald – aged 13.

Today, along with 40 other youngsters, their family and friends, Sophie is learning that life, even without hair, is worth living thanks to a unique camp organised by Be Bold, a support group for children with alopecia.

The camp is to be highlighted in a BBC documentary, Crowning Glory, to be screened later this year. At least two per cent of the UK population suffer hair loss and there are ten main types of alopecia, which affect people of all ages.

The most common is alopecia areata, which causes patchy hair loss; totalis, loss of hair on the scalp; and universalis, loss of all body hair.

Yet still relatively little is known about the conditions, which are thought to stem from the immune system attacking healthy follicles, causing the hair to fall out and suppressing or stopping new growth.

There is strong evidence that alopecia areata is hereditary while environmental factors such as stress may also trigger the condition.

There is no cure or effective treatment.

Doctors believe the stress of being bullied caused Sophie’s hair loss, which included her eyebrows and eyelashes, and she was referred to a specialist at James Paget Hospital in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, for blood tests.

She was suffering from alopecia universalis, and her cherished blonde locks may have gone for good. ‘I felt unhappy and alone, as if I was the only person in Suffolk without hair.

Being bullied was horrible but losing my hair was so upsetting I didn’t see much point in being around if I was always going to be like that,’ admits Sophie, a pupil at Denes High School in Lowestoft.

‘Before I came here kids would taunt me and say I had cancer because I was bald. They made me feel scared that no one would ever want to be my friend.

‘The camp has taught me that I can have friends because having alopecia shouldn’t matter.’ Ann-Marie Payne, 32, founded Be Bold with her husband Darren, 39, a service manager for Fujitsu, after their daughter Katelyn, seven, lost her hair.

‘She was just two years old, and within a few months – seemingly for no reason – 70 per cent of her hair had gone,’ says Ann-Marie.

‘She was diagnosed with alopecia areata, and despite being given a steroid cream to try to stimulate hair growth, nothing happened for 18 months.

‘Then suddenly the regrowth began and by the time she was five she had a full head of hair again.

'She’s seven now, and although it started getting patchy again at Christmas it hasn’t got any worse.

‘As a mum you want to be able to cuddle your child and tell them everything is going to get better. But with alopecia you can’t do that because you just don’t know what will happen.

‘When my daughter came home from nursery school crying because she couldn’t put bows in her hair, I felt terrible and had no one to talk it through with. We felt very isolated as parents.’

Be Bold started as a monthly meeting at the Paynes’s home in Durham and has developed into the camp, which has doubled in size to 80 since it was first held last year.

Katelyn, whose twin brother Hayden doesn’t have alopecia, has grown in confidence since becoming interested in Latin and ballroom dancing.

Her parents were convinced that other youngsters would benefit from sharing their experiences and decided to organise the camp. Sophie’s mother Helen, who helps find housing for the disabled for a living, is certain the camp has provided a lifeline for Sophie.

‘When she’d barricade herself away, I’d sit at the top of the stairs listening in case Sophie tried hurting herself,’ she says. ‘There’s nothing worse than your child saying they don’t want to live any more.

‘But within hours of coming here she made friends that she can keep in touch with on Facebook, she’s grown in confidence and she’s realised she isn’t alone and it doesn’t have to be the end of the world.

‘Her sister Chloe, who’s 13, was reluctant to come along but she’s had a fantastic time too.

'And for us it’s meant there are other parents we can talk to. Sophie used to be so girly and loved dressing up and doing her make-up.

‘We’ve decided she needs some therapy to help her come to terms with her alopecia but this camp has given all of us hope that one day I will get my little girl back.’

Article Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2028250/Summer-camp-helped-live-alopecia.html

Prevalence and Etiology of Central Centrifugal Cicatricial Alopecia

Central centrifugal cicatricial alopecia (CCCA) is an inflammatory form of hair loss seen more commonly in women of African descent. It has been referred to as "hot comb alopecia,"1 chemically induced scarring alopecia,2 and follicular degeneration syndrome,3 but the term CCCA was later coined by the North American Hair Research Society (NAHRS).4 This form of primary scarring alopecia occurs mainly on the vertex of the scalp, spreads peripherally, and produces permanent destruction of the pilosebaceous unit. Treatment is focused on halting the progression of disease and typically consists of topical and intralesional corticosteroid therapy and antibiotics such as doxycycline.5 In stable disease, hair transplantation in some cases has shown promise, although graft survival is low, and regrowth of the transplanted hair is slow.6-7 To our knowledge, there currently are no evidence-based published studies on therapeutic outcome in patients with CCCA, and further investigation.

Article Source: http://archderm.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/extract/147/8/972

Hair loss - dealing with the fallout

Sufferers of hair loss can find themselves on a merry-go-round of solutions. As the evidence collects down the plughole and on the pillow, they try brushing their hair less, changing shampoo, cutting out hair dyes and styling their hair differently to hide the inevitable.

And ultimately as this medical-cum-cosmetic condition becomes more apparent they often don't know where to go for help - the hairdresser or the doctor?

Many look for advice on the internet only to be bombarded with misinformation and a marketing avalanche of expensive hair loss products and services promising amazing results.

RELATED NEWS: Medication fixes hair problem | Len's all smiles after hair transplant

Jennifer Martinick, Nedlands hair restoration surgeon and vice-president of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery, said hair loss was an internet minefield and "if it sounds too good to be true then it probably is".

Dr Martinick wanted to "straighten out the dodgy industry because there are an awful lot of car-yard salesmen out there".

She has dedicated much of the past five years to educating health professionals and hairdressers about a diagnostic approach to hair loss that includes medical treatments and transplant surgery.

She said doctors were taught about life and death and less about quality of life procedures such as hair replacement.

For many affected, hair loss was psychologically devastating and the earlier help was sought the greater the treatment options.

Australasian College of Dermatologists spokeswoman Clare Tait said the most common form of hair loss was androgenetic alopecia - also known as male and female pattern hair loss.

Dr Tait said alopecia was a medical condition with cosmetic implications that only needed to be treated if it was causing distress to the patient.

"How you choose to treat alopecia typically depends on its severity and the person's expectations," she said.

Of greatest importance was making a definite diagnosis because the different causes required a different treatment approach.

Dr Tait said 80 per cent of men had evidence of male pattern hair loss by the time they were 80 and the majority of women over 50 had some element of female pattern hair loss.

Male and female pattern hair loss is genetic and it is believed that genetics have an influence.

In men it is characterised by hair being lost progressively on either side of the forehead and the top of the scalp or vertex.

A woman's hairline usually doesn't recede but starts to thin over the crown area.

The first choice for treatment with good clinical evidence to support its use was a topical medication, minoxidil, that was available as an over-the-counter medication in Australia, Dr Tait said.

Minoxidil was very well tolerated and side effects were rare. It came in 2 and 5 per cent concentrations and, using a syringe dispenser, a millilitre of the solution is rubbed into the affected area of the scalp in the morning and again at night.

But she warned that it could take up to a year before results could be seen on minoxidil and patients needed to be willing to commit to long-term therapy. If treatment was stopped, its effects were quickly lost and hair loss would revert to what it would have been without treatment.

In general, she said, one-third of women experienced a significant improvement in hair growth on minoxidil, one-third would have hair loss stabilised and one-third did not respond and continued to thin. Results for men were more optimistic with up to 85 per cent showing some benefit.

Dr Tait said a second medication, finasteride, that came in a tablet worked by inhibiting an enzyme, 5 alpha reductase type 2. Reducing the enzyme's activity reduced the conversion of testosterone to dihydrotestosterone in the scalp and bloodstream, which appeared to inhibit the further shrinking of affected hair follicles. Studies had shown up to nine out of 10 men on long-term, daily finasteride had improved or stable hair counts.

This medication was prescribed only for men. It was not licensed for use by women because it could have devastating effects on an unborn baby.

While finasteride was generally well tolerated in men, some changes in sexual function were reported by a few.

It was also thought that finasteride might make it more difficult to diagnose prostate cancer because it caused a reduction in the enzyme, prostate specific antigen (PSA), a measurement which was used to aid the diagnosis of prostate cancer.

However, she said recent studies had failed to show any increased risk of prostate cancer in men taking finasteride.

For women, anti-androgen therapy could be prescribed, namely cyproterone acetate and spironolactone. These compounds blocked androgen receptors and stimulated scalp hair regrowth in women.

Dr Tait said other medical conditions could cause hair loss and hence it was important to get a correct diagnosis before commencing any treatment.

A diagnosis required taking a full medical history, clinical examination and tests such as a scalp biopsy. This could help determine if it was a pattern hair loss or something else mimicking it, Dr Tait said.

One of the more common types of hair loss that may be caused by an underlying medical condition is known as telogen effluvium.

Dr Tait said triggers for telogen effluvium included hormonal changes after pregnancy, or when coming off the pill, an iron deficiency, thyroid disease, zinc deficiency or major psychological and physical stress.

She said stress-related hair loss could happen three to six months after a stressful event occurred.

By identifying and treating the underlying medical condition then, hair loss due to telogen effluvium would often be reversed.

Dr Tait said research was ongoing for new medications and topical solutions.

She said some studies were being conducted into finasteride as a gel and another medication known as flutamide had recently shown good research results although there were some concerns over toxicity.
Dutasteride had a slightly different activity on the 5 alpha reductase enzymes and early studies showed promise but more research was needed.

Article Source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/lifestyle/a/-/health/10015054/hair-loss-dealing-with-the-fallout/